By Shamsiya Hussainpoor
For over a decade now, an outer eastern Melbourne couple have been donating and helping members and animals in the community facing financial hardships and food shortages.
The Bk 2 Basics Melbourne charity organisation was established nearly a decade ago, but the support and service was active way before its establishment.
Bk 2 Basics Melbourne founder Kelly Warren, with her husband Craig and daughters, moved to Melbourne from New Zealand 11 years ago.
Ms Warren said, the family started this whole service and support to the community because many families could not afford basic necessities like food.
“When you see kids cry over a cauliflower and they would rather take the cauliflower than a lolly because they haven’t had veggies in so long, it’s sad,” she said.
“We’re against food waste, many families can’t afford it, animals are hungry – sometimes there’s not enough grass for farm animals, like cows, people on hobby farms, or all the bird rescues, they are all screaming out for food, I’d rather it goes to animals than landfall.”
“We have a few farmers come and get it in bulk, but anyone can come and get food scraps at any time and all we ask is that you leave the place tidy – it’s better for us, it’s better for the whole planet.”
The initiative started when the family went into the city at the beginning of their arrival to the country and saw homeless people laying in the busy streets of Melbourne.
“We were helping the homeless for about three years, and my daughters were taking more food to school, and I wondered where the school lunches were going, then I found out they were giving it to kids at school who didn’t have lunches,” she said.
“That’s when the kids suggested that instead of just helping the homeless in the city, we can also start helping families around us, and that’s when we started doing this work from my carport.
“If someone needs help, we just do it.”
Now the Warren family is helping more than 7000 individuals weekly with groceries, food, and social support like helping people escape family violence.
According to Clean Up Australia, over seven million tonnes of food is wasted in Australia every year – which equates to nearly 300kgs of food per person, per year.
Approximately 92 per cent of household food waste still goes directly to landfill, where it anaerobically decomposes, expelling methane – a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
In Australia, reducing food waste could save the average family up to $3800 per year.
Ms Warren said despite the organisation receiving donations from several places including, OzHarvest Food Bank, Aldi, Costco, local bakeries, and people donating – they are still short on food.
“We need food, if you are in a food place and you’re throwing things away, give us a ring, I’d rather that food go in people’s stomachs – the more we get food, the more we can cater for more people,” Ms Warren said.
They also run barbecues every weekend and they have a little op shop – where everything is $1 and it’s the only $1 op shop in Melbourne.
The next move is to have food trucks on the road, feeding and supporting homeless people.
Ms Warren said, they are always looking for volunteers to help them out, if you are interested in volunteering, email them on, bk2basicsmelbourne@gmail.com or find them on Facebook.
They are open six days a week and located at, 4/54-60 Vesper Dr, Narre Warren (their op shop is next door).
